Table Of ContentPraise for The Together Teacher
“Over the years, I’ve seen Maia’s work transform the lives of hundreds of teachers and leaders.
Maia is a teacher at heart and gets that a teacher has to give thought to hundreds of consid-
erations over the course of the day. She helps us feel prepared, centered, and Together so
that we can show up as our best selves for students.”
Chong- Hao Fu, CEO, Leading Educators
“Our job as leaders is to support our teachers to become superb educators so they can be at
their best for our students and families. Too often we lose teachers with great potential
because they become overwhelmed by the amount of information coming at them, that is,
emails, texts, phone calls, student work, daily and weekly team meetings, and PD sessions.
The Together Teacher provides the tools needed to equip teachers with specific strategies to
process all that information and free up their minds to focus on honing their craft. We
appreciate the tools provided and the humor and compassion that exudes from Maia, as it
leads to all of us believing that being organized and being Together is ’cool’ and something
we all want to do.”
Kate Mehok, cofounder and CEO, Crescent City Schools
“Twenty years ago, I entered the teaching profession with good intentions and lots of enthu-
siasm. However, the impact I made was minimal because I lacked strong systems for manag-
ing all of my responsibilities. After implementing the strategies from The Together Teacher,
I was able to stay on top of my daily priorities, utilize my calendar in a powerful way, and
tame the email beast— and become a high- performing teacher. I’m a principal now, and I
use The Together Teacher with my staff to help them plan ahead, get organized, and save
time. The Together Teacher is one of the most transformative texts I’ve ever read as an
educator.”
Eric Newcomer, principal, YES Prep Northbrook Middle School
“Through The Together Teacher, Maia leads you on a journey of self- reflection to create
personalized organizational systems that work for your priorities and personality. In becom-
ing a Together teacher, I began to use my two most finite resources – time and energy – more
strategically, becoming a happier and more balanced person in my life both in and out of
the classroom.”
Greta Gartman, elementary teacher, South Portland Schools, Maine
“Maia understands the reality of teacher life. Her work supports teachers across all grade
levels and settings to ensure they have a clear, prioritized plan for their massive workload
and laundry bag. Maia builds on her previous work and offers us new insights as we shift to
a more tech- driven school environment. This book is required reading for school leaders
looking to create healthy and sustainable working conditions for their staff.”
Shawn Mangar, principal, Baychester Middle School
“I am SO thankful for being introduced to The Together Teacher during my first year of
teaching. Maia’s simple, efficient, and effective techniques saved me from many potential
meltdowns! Now, six years later, I still think about these Together tips all the time. These
techniques help me spend less time feeling overwhelmed and more time actually educating!”
Julia Ziac, STEM educator
THE
TOGETHER
TEACHER
THE
TOGETHER
TEACHER
Plan Ahead, Get Organized,
and Save Time!
Maia Heyck-Merlin
Marin Smith
Maggie G. Sorby
Foreword by Ann Blakeney Clark
Second Edition
Copyright © 2021 by Maia Heyck-Merlin. All rights reserved.
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second edition
To the Together Team (you know who you are)
